Major plan announced for Pope’s Phoenix Park Mass

LEAVE your car at home for the Pope Francis Mass in the Phoenix Park. That’s the message from Garda and transport chiefs ahead of the papal visit at the end of this month.

At a joint press conference this morning, the National Transport Authority (NTA), An Gardaí Síochána and public transport operators outlined a comprehensive transportation plan and road closure system which will be put in place for the visit of Pope Francis on the weekend of August 25 and 26.

The authorities are concerned at the clear oversubscription of those who are expecting to drive to and from the Phoenix Park Mass on Sunday, August 26. They have stressed that there is no car park near the venue from which attendees will be able to walk to the event. However, organisers have secured car parking for those availing of park and ride facilities to help minimise the walking distance.
Those who have booked a ticket for the Mass and indicated they would like to travel by car will be contacted this week by the World Meeting of Families.

Speaking at the briefing, Garda Superintendent Thomas Murphy said: "This is the largest event Ireland has organised in nearly 40 years. It simply will not be possible to accommodate all the people who have indicated they want to travel by car to the Mass. Therefore, we are urging people to go by train, bus, coach or Luas to this event. While walking is inevitable, you will be minimising your walk to and from the event by taking public transport or private coaches.”

The NTA has put in place a robust transport plan to cater for everyone attending the event. Tim Gaston, its Director of Public Transport Services, said: "Every bus, train and tram is being used for this event and for the safety of the travelling public if you have a ticket for the Phoenix Park, you will be allowed to travel for free within Dublin on the day of the event.”

Each operator – Iarnrod Éireann, Dublin Bus, Luas, Bus Éireann and Go-Ahead – will commence services from early morning, especially for those travelling from outside of Dublin.

There is an extensive range of public transport options available to get to and from the Phoenix Park, including:

• Free travel on all public transport within Dublin for Sunday, August 26.
• 250,000 journeys available from Iarnród Éireann across Intercity, DART and Commuter services.
• Bus Éireann will be operating a weekday service throughout the country to bring people to the event. In excess of 30,000 passenger journeys can be made on the day on Bus Éireann.
• Dublin Bus have created seven dedicated Papal transport hubs which will take you within close proximity to the gates of the Phoenix Park. Almost 1,000 buses will be available to get people to and from the Mass and over 400,000 journeys will be provided.
• Special Park & Ride hubs for the event have been created in a number of locations where people can park up and then take public transport to and from the event. These are Leopardstown Racecourse (Luas), UCD Belfield (Dublin Bus), Maynooth University (train) and Fairyhouse Racecourse (train).
• The Luas Red and Green lines will be operating at a 6-10 minute frequency throughout the day.
There will be a Luas stop operating at Leopardstown Racecourse for the first time.
• Go-Ahead Ireland is providing shuttle buses to help with the transport requirements for the Papal Mass, using 40 double deck vehicles.

There will be a Controlled Access Zone around Dublin city from 6am until 11pm on Sunday, August 26, starting at the M50, with extensive road closures and restrictions in place. Rolling restrictions are also set to be announced for Saturday, August 25, as Pope Francis visits a number of locations in Dublin city centre.